Speculation, Fact and Fiction

Via Shelf Awareness, I've been learning what President-elect Obama thinks of libraries.

"More than a building that houses books and data, the library has always been a window to a larger world--a place where we've always come to discover big ideas and profound concepts that help move the American story forward. . . . .

"Libraries remind us that truth isn't about who yells the loudest, but who has the right information. Because even as we're the most religious of people, America's innovative genius has always been preserved because we also have a deep faith in facts.

"And so the moment we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold into a library, we've changed their lives forever, and for the better. This is an enormous force for good."

This is taken from his speech to the American Library Association annual conference in June 2005 (and since Shelf Awareness are thanking Donna Paz Kaufman and Janet W. Loveless of the Nassau County Public Library System, Fernandina Beach, Fla.,so shall I).

The entire speech is well worth reading.